I went to a fascinating event a few weeks ago, organised by the Mile End Institute, called Re-imagining the BBC.
They describe it like this:
"The debate around the review of the BBC Charter is in full swing. As the broadcaster and the government start the process of defining its future role, what can be learned from previous rounds of negotiations? In the first of two events organised by the Mile End Institute and the BBC, we brought together a panel of speakers with direct experience of Charter rounds to reflect on the lessons of the past."
"Chaired by Lord (Peter) Hennessy, the panel featured Baroness (Tessa) Jowell, former Secretary of State for Culture Media & Sport, Lord (Norman) Fowler, former chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and David Levy, former Controller of Public Policy at the BBC and now Director of the Reuters Institute at Oxford University."
The MEI have made a splendid little video here about the history of those charters:
But most of the discussion on the night focused on the last one or two charter rounds, since they were the ones the panelists were involved in. And given that it must have been obvious during those rounds that new technologies were going to completely overturn the world the BBC operated in I was looking forward to a lively debate about the BBC's role in a changed media/technology landscape. After all, the equivalence of those various technologies are enshrined in the current charter:
"The BBC’s main activities should be the promotion of its Public Purposes through the provision of output which consists of information, education and entertainment, supplied by means of
(a) television, radio and online services;
(b) similar or related services which make output generally available and which may be in forms or by means of technologies which either have not previously been used by the BBC or which have yet to be developed"
You can now read the conversation that actually unfolded for yourself, as the MEI have generously published a transcript. But if you don't want to plough through it yourself I've done a little bit of textual analysis.
The event was summed up for me by the Lords Tom McNally and Melvyn Bragg cautioning Tony Hall not to be beguiled by the idea that people might consume the BBC on things other than TVs or radios and making it clear, if more clarity was needed, that all the BBC should do is make TV and radio programmes.
Lord (Tom) McNally – "You asked Tony what he’d learned from this, I just hope he’s learned from this that although there’s lots of beguiling ideas, that we’ll all be watching programmes on our watches before long, essentially the main job of the BBC will be sending programmes to televisions and to radios and that’s where the vast majority of people watch."
Lord (Melvyn) Bragg: "Huw Wheldon said the BBC is the sum of its programmes, we pay for the programmes. If they get the programmes right for as diverse a group of people as possible, then they're OK – that’s what we want, and all the rest is to prop up that."
Digital
Uses of the word 'digital' : 6
Uses of the word 'digital' outside the context of 'digital switchover' : 2 (one of these seems to be a mishearing of the word 'judicial')
The remaining use of the word 'digital':
Tony Hall: "Increasingly more and more of what you do in the BBC is global by its very nature, that’s the digital world we’re in so the impact you have, one of the strengths over the last 2-3 years, is you now see World Service reporters reporting back to the UK, or listen to them, as well as broadcasting out there."
Online
Uses of the word 'online': 3
These were
a. As a general description of the world we're in these days:
Tony Hall: "So I would love to explore ways in which we can build on that body of support for the BBC knowing that it in the future it’s going to be easier to find out what people are thinking in the online world, to try to cement audiences more firmly into the way that the BBC kind of runs itself."
b. As a way of soliciting opinion:
Tony Hall: "I suggested last week a dual lock for fundamental changes, and I mean fundamental changes, for the next charter which might be subjecting those fundamental changes to a two thirds resolution of each of the houses of Parliament, but also looking at some way of linking the people who are paying for us into discussion and debate about those changes - an online vote or something very similar. So I don't have all the answers, I’m really looking forward to hearing the comments this evening and thank you all very much for your time."
c. On people using the BBC website as a way of finding out if things are true:
Tony Hall: "When you look at what do people use BBC online, globally, or in this country for, often it is a test. I want to know what’s happened and I want it clarified and I’ll go to the BBC to do that but actually I might use 3 or 4 on average other news sites at the same time."
Phone
Uses of the word 'phone': 3
Uses of the word 'phone' outside the context of phoning the Channel 4 Press office: 2
Those two uses of the word 'phone' are here:
Baroness (Tessa) Jowell: "I remember when I first became secretary of state in 2001 and I was introduced to convergence. When it was described to me that in 6 or 7 years’ time, we might be taking pictures with our telephone and watching TV from our telephones, it seemed unimaginable. I think when you think more than 5 years’ hence, you have to think but how will technology have changed the world?"
Web
Uses of the word 'web': 2
Uses of the word 'web' outside the context of Alan Webb's name: 1
That use of the word 'web' is here:
Lord (Norman) Fowler: "And the present government is no exception to this, as Tessa has said, financing old people’s television licences out of the licence fee or, one proposal I saw, giving advice on how the BBC website should be set up so as not to upset local newspapers. I think that is getting into a degree of detail, which no government should get in."
Technology
Uses of the word 'technology': 2
They were:
Baroness (Tessa) Jowell: "I think when you think more than 5 years’ hence, you have to think but how will technology have changed the world?"
Baroness (Tessa) Jowell: "I agree that the World Service is precious, the standard of its broadcasting is excellent. My question is in 5 or 10 years’ time, will it still be as relevant or will technology have made it easier to create the sense of presence and immediacy that journalists on the ground manage to do? That I think is generally a big question for the BBC and don’t really feel I know the answer but I know it is a question and a challenge which is coming down the road"
Blog
Uses of the word blog: 1
That was, here, as something young people do:
Baroness (Jane) Bonham Carter: "In the same way I think the BBC news organisation is something in my experience young people turn to because they know blogs represent certain types of information which are often very interesting and often news breaking but there is a central point they can rely on I think that’s true of the World Service too."
Internet
Uses of the word internet: 0
iPlayer
Uses of the word iplayer: 0
Smart Phone
Uses of the phrase 'smart phone': 0
Data
Uses of the word data: 0
Network
Uses of the word network: 0
Computer
Uses of the word computer: 0
Software
Uses of the word software: 0